A/N: I've run into some writing trouble, which means I feel like my chapters are losing quality, PLUS I have writer's block. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. In addition, I apologize for the long time between updates. I hope a long chapter makes up for it? *Pleading look* Anyways, like I said, if you have any ideas for me, review or PM me. I'm trying to keep this different from Avatar: The Last Airbender, because I have no intention of this turning into a FanFiction. Also, my idea for the sequel to this book is probably actually edging on a FanFiction, so if anyone would want to help me decide what to do with that, let me know!
This is my first story I've shared beyond my circle of friends and I'm awfully nervous about doing everything right XD Enjoy this chapter!

Training [Elena]
229 Days Until Departure

I led Lexy and Levi out of the main building onto a jungle path. I was filling in as the main Water trainer until Blake Harwell arrived, which would be whenever his stupid political life allowed him to get away.

"We have to go pick up Tris Arelus. She's going to be tested with you guys today. Did you meet her on the train?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"Oh yeah. We met her." Levi said, a little bitterness in his voice. "She's not too bad, but nobody really likes anyone on Control Team 3 because of Lizzy Pyre. She's rude to everyone."

"Mmm. Wonderful. I get to work with Tris AND Lizzy." I said sarcastically, smiling. I liked Lexy and Levi already, and I hoped they tested correctly so I'd get to keep working with them. "Here we are." We walked into a large building, similar to the Field Team's area. All of the Control Teams were sitting, finishing up their breakfast.

"Tris Arelus?" I asked loudly, getting their attention.

"Yes?" A tall girl with wavy brown hair and blue eyes stood up.

"I'm Elena Kovar. You'll be working with us today. I'm filling in for your usual trainer until he arrives. I believe you know who Blake Harwell is. Anyway, please come with us.

"Um. Excuse me?" A girl with long brown hair and brown eyes hurried over to us. "Who will I be working with?"

I just looked at her. "You are...?"

"Lizzy Pyre." she said, as if it were something to be proud of. "From Quisteria."

"Ah. Well. I'll be your normal trainer. And since I'm filling in for Blake, I suppose you'll have to come with us, too. Let's go."

She smiled like she had accomplished something, and I rolled my eyes. Leading the four trainees out of the building, I brought them to the Testing Area.

"We'll be testing your abilities today. You probably won't understand most of what's going on, but I'll explain it when you're ready. I'm the main Fire Instructor, but I help Blake with Water Training a lot. Like I said, this probably means nothing to you, but just trust me." I said as a door slid open to reveal my testing room.

The room was painted blue, gold, and red, and had various testing equipment laid out. On one of the blue walls, there were three large basins that could be filled with water, or other liquids. Against one of the red walls was a long table that held three large candles.

"What is all this stuff?" Tris asked, glancing around with wide eyes.

"I use all of this to help determine if you have the correct characteristics for the mission. If you don't pass the tests, don't worry. You'll still be asked to help the mission in some way, you just might not be as important to the team." I replied, pulling my Glass out of my pocket and stretching it out. "First I'll just ask you all some questions, and record them here."

They all nodded, albeit a little hesitantly.

"Alright. State your name and block." I started professionally, even though I already knew where each of them was from.

"Lizzy Pyre. Quisteria.

"Lexy Malone. I was born in Obrylin, but now live in Milia."

"Tris Arelus. Froya."

"Levi Urban. Obrylin."

I adjusted a few settings on my Glass microphone, then continued. "Please wait while I describe your eye color. Lizzy Pyre, brown eyes with a muddy green ring around the iris. Lexy Malone, bright blue eyes with silver flecks. Tris Arelus, bright blue eyes with a seafoam green outer ring. Levi Urban, dark blue eyes with dark gray flecks. Now, out of the elements Water, Earth, Fire, and Air, which appeals to you the most and why?"

"Um. Fire, I guess. Because it's like hot and stuff. And burns things up? And Earth is... Super strong...?" Lizzy answered uncertainly.

"Water. It's calm and soothing. But so is Air." Lexy replied logically.

"Water because it's graceful and strong. But Earth is strong and reliable." Tris said, thinking it through.

"I agree with Lexy. Water and Air are both calm and soothing." Levi replied, glancing sideways at Lexy.

I blinked. Lizzy's answer was the usual one. Some petty reason for an element. But Lexy, Tris, and Levi had all answered deeply. Something that only the strongest do. It's what Jake, Eric, Jade, Blake, and I had done; that's why we were trainers.

"Okay. What season do you prefer?"

"Summer." Lizzy said right away.

"Winter."

"Winter."

"Yep. Winter."

Well. They were making this easy on me. "There are a few more questions. But I don't think we'll need to go over those. I need to take the temperature of your skin now." I said as flicked through options on my Glass. Four squares were suddenly projected out into the air, one for each trainee. "Place your hand inside the box and wait until it turns green."

As they followed instructions, information started popping up on the screen. They didn't know it, but I was doing more than just taking their temperature. My Glass recorded fact sheets for each individual.

Lizzy Pyre

Block: Quisteria

Social Status: Father is good friends with the governor

Temperature: 110°

Mental Status: Frustrated, envious, petty

Thinking about at the moment:

I love Elena's outfit.

She's really nice. I wonder if she'll like me?

She better like me. No. Of course she will.

Who doesn't?

I need to get my lip gloss back from Tris.

Zack's soooo hot. Why doesn't he like me?

It's because of his siter. Christina hates me.

I wish she wouldn't hate me. I mean, sure I've been rude to her. But... She could still be nice!

She's so pretty! So is Tris. And Elena. Am I pretty?

Duh. Why would I even ask that.

Probability of being a bender: 95%

Probability of being a double bender: 78%

Probability of being a full bender: 0%

Top two elements: Fire, Earth

Lexy Malone

Block: Born in Obrylin. Lives in Milia

Social Status: Upper middle class family. Highly respected.

Temperature: 80°

Mental Status: Calm, happy, curious

Thinking about at the moment:

Lizzy isn't being as annoying as she was on the train. I wonder why.

Tris is pretty nice. I like her.

Where's Christina? I wish she would have come with us.

Elena seems nice. I'll bet her and Christina and Zack would get along great!

Oh no! I didn't make my bed before we left this morning!

I'll have to apologize to Diamond later.

Levi's super nice. I like him.

Wow. I think a lot of people are nice, don't I?

Hmm... I'll have to ask Christina for some eyeliner later...

Probability of being a bender: 98%

Probability of being a double bender: 90%

Probability of being a full bender: 5%

Top two elements: Water, Air

Tris Arelus

Block: Froya

Social Status: Governor's daughter

Temperature: 82°

Mental Status: Calm, calculating, high thought speed

Thinking about at the moment:

Lizzy is strangely quiet today.

Weird.

I wonder what that machine over there does. It looks intense.

Maybe Elena would get me one of those really cool high tech Glass Screens if I asked her super nicely.

It looks so cool. I doubt that version is even available to the publ-

I BET IT'S GOVERNMENT GRADE.

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. I want one.

I have to ask Elena to at least TRY ONE.

HEY THE BOX THINGY IS GREEN. I must be finished.

That Lucas kid on the Field Team is really spazzy.

Wait... So am I. Hey look! THAT THING LOOKS COOL.

Probability of being a bender: 96%

Probability of being a double bender: 85%

Probability of being a full bender: 3%

Top two elements: Water, Earth

Levi Urban

Block: Obrylin

Social Status: Son of the port and marina master. Family is well off.

Temperature: 85°

Mental Status: Calm, curious, shy

Thinking about at the moment:

Lexy is nice.

Lizzy isn't being too rude today.

I like Tris. She seems like she'd be funny.

These machines are crazy.

I bet Ryan would love to get his hands on some of this stuff.

Then he'd try to hack into it or something.

I wonder how my brother and sister are doing back home.

Why isn't Dallas with our group? He's so hilarious...

Probability of being a bender: 95%

Probability of being a double bender: 89%

Probability of being a full bender: 1%

Top two elements: Water, Air

"Great. Thanks guys. You all get personal Glass Screens, where you'll get information about your teammates, trainers, the mission, etc. They're sitting over there on that counter." I nodded to the back wall. "Tris, could I talk to you for a sec?"

"Yeah, sure. What's up?" She said as the others walked over to the counter.

"Since you're head of the Control Team, I'm going to give you the same type of Glass that I have. And I'll teach you about all the cool features." I said, trying to hide a smile.

Her eyes grew wide. "Really?! That'd be so awesome!" I handed her a brand new Glass. "Thank you!"

"Don't mention it. We'll set up a time to talk during dinner. Until then, you can play around with it. I'm supposed to have you guys do exercises now, but I'll say that you're doing mental strengthening work. Come on." I replied, smiling.

The others had picked up their new DiamondTek equipment, and I led them into another room for training.

"Your screens shrink down and fit into these armbands." I said, holding up black bands with glowing green circles on them. "Just squeeze or stretch the screen to the size you want, hold it up to the green circle, and they'll hover themselves in." I passed out the bands and put my own screen up to the circle. The screen shifted and moved itself into place on the arm band. "They won't fall out, and they can tell you important information when you're training. Diamond is installed on each one. You can just think to her and she'll respond, or you can speak out loud. Let's do some exercises. Tris, you work on your Glass for a bit."

I stepped out onto the training mat and directed the trainees on what to do, while I called the other trainers with my Glass. I slowly walked away from the other teens as I waited for the trainers to pick up.

"Hey. You do you guys know when Blake's going to show up? I really want to start working with my Fire students full time. Even though I love Water, I love Fire more. You guys know that. Blake knows that!" I started when all of them had connected.

"Oh, calm down, Elena. Blake should be here in time for dinner tonight. You'll get to work with your Fire students soon enough. By the way, I think I found a couple of double benders for you and Blake to work with. Fire dominant." Eric replied.

"Aw. Poor Blake. He always loves getting Water dominant steam benders and rub it in my face." I laughed. "I found a couple of Airbenders for you, Jake, but they're Water dominant."

"And I've got an Earth dominant Airbender for you." Eric added.

"Awesome. We usually don't have many Air types. Air and Earth should be... interesting." Jake replied.

"No more interesting than me and Blake." I heard a groan from Jake and grinned. "Jade, I've got a couple of Earthbenders here. One Fire dominant and one Water."

"I've only ever heard of Eric as a Fire and Earth combo. Who is it?" Jade answered with interest.

"Lizzy Pyre." I said, looking over to where Lizzy glanced up at me from her training upon hearing her name.

"Jade, I've got an Air dominant Earthbender with me." Jake broke in. "And I've got two Air dominant Waterbenders for you and Blake, Elena."

"Perfect. I've always wanted a bunch of cloud benders around." I rolled my eyes, smiling.

"Hey! They could be powerful! Maybe..." Jake trailed off.

"So get this, guys." Eric started. "I may have a full bender. Fire dominant."

"OH YEAH!" I broke in. There hadn't been a Fire dominant full bender in a long time. "Who is it?!"

"Christina Noble. I'm bring her to you as we speak, along with Zack Ashmore, because he's a Fire dominant Waterbender."

"Oooh. I get to meet the heir to the kingdom? I must be dreaming." I said sarcastically. "I'll see you all at dinner. And you better remind Blake to be here on time, or else I will hunt him down." Then I ended my connection to the call.

"Elena?" I turned around to find Lizzy approaching me. "Did I do something wrong? Is that why you said my name?" She seemed very nervous.

"Oh! No, not at all. I was discussing test results with the other trainers, and we found out who your other trainer will be. She was just asking who you were. You'll be working with Jade and myself." I smiled.

She nodded, looking very relieved.

I turned towards the others. "Okay. Eric's bringing Christina Noble and Zack Ashmore over, because they'll be working with me anyways. You guys can take a break until they get here and we sort things out. You can get water from that compartment over there." I nodded to the back wall, where a glowing gold light was emanating from the closed box.

I walked back into the Testing Room as Eric entered with Christina and Zack behind him.

"Hey, Elena. Blake heard about your threat and dropped everything to get on the next train here. He should arrive in less than a half hour." Eric said, smirking.

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

He nodded. "Although he might of said something about a duel to settle this once and for all. Plus, he got excited about the steam benders here." He said, gesturing to Christina and Zack. "I gotta go help Jade out with... Something." He coughed. I grinned.

"Sure. Something." I replied, drawing out the word, and laughing when he blushed. "I'll see you later, Eric. Come on guys." I said to the two golden-eyed teens as Eric hurried out.

I led them through the hall to the Training Room, where the others were sprawled across the floor, chatting. Lexy glanced at us and hopped up.
"Christina! Zack!" She smiled. "This is going to be so fun!"

Levi grinned at Zack, and Tris gave them a tentative smile. All the two got from Lizzy was a guarded glance.

Christina smiled at her two friends, and even at Tris. "Hey guys. Aren't these new Glass screens the best?" Tris instantly perked up.

"Yes! They're amazing! I can't believe all the features they can fit onto something so thin!" She exclaimed.

Christina stared at her for a second, surprised, and then laughed happily. Tris grinned in return, and both got a venomous look from Lizzy.

"Well!" I said, breaking in before anything could start. "Blake will be here in about twenty minutes, and we'll keep Zack and Christina here. Lizzy, you and Tris will go to work with Jade in the green building. Levi and Lexy, you guys will go work with Jake in the orange building. In the meantime, we're going to do laps. Go on. Start. Your Glass Screens will keep track. You too, Tris." She groaned, but complied with my order.
I rolled my eyes good-naturedly and went back into the Training Room to wait for the high and mighty Harwell boy to arrive.

"Hey Elena. I'm here." Blake said as he strode through the doorway, his luggage still in hand.

"Hey, asshole. Nice of you to show up." I said, extinguishing the candles I had been sitting in front of and getting up.

"Ouch. I was expecting a warmer greeting. After all, I haven't graced you with my presence in quite some time." He replied as he threw his stuff unceremoniously into the corner. He glanced up at me and smirked.

Oooh. He thought I was going to let him off easy for skipping out on basically the whole first part of the mission. The boring work. Gathering information and choosing people. His only input had been "Christina Noble has to be on the Field team." And that had been over a conference call on our DiamondTek Screens.

Well. I wasn't really all that mad. But still. He'd dumped a lot of work on me. So I'd let him fret over it for a bit.

I arched an eyebrow at his smirk, but did nothing more, keeping a straight face.

"Oh, come on, Elena. You aren't really mad at me, are you?" He said, keeping his tone playful, even though I could tell the worry was creeping in. Good. Let it. I was getting way too much enjoyment out of his nervousness.

I simply flicked some of my blonde hair over my shoulder and turned toward the Training Room. I felt him grab for my arm, but I easily stepped to the side, continuing on my way to the waiting pupils.

"Elena, wait! Are you seriously upset with me?! You know my father needed me to be all... Charming and what not! The elections are coming up." He said pleadingly, this time grabbing my shoulder and spinning me around to face him.

I scoffed at the thought of him putting on false charm. "You're about as charming as Lizzy Pyre." I replied coldly.

"Who?" He asked, confused.

"You would know if you had been here for the drafting process." I snapped.

"Oh." He said in a small voice, glancing away and letting go of my shoulder.

"Luckily, you get the great pleasure of meeting her right now." I said sarcastically. As an afterthought I mumbled under my breath, "I'm sure she'll be very... pleased to meet you as well."

His worried look grew a bit, whether it was from me turning coldly away, or from my muttered words, I wasn't sure. We walked to the Training Room in mostly silence. I say mostly because it kept getting broken by Blake trying to apologize some more, and me sending him harsh looks.
I walked into the Training Room with Blake on my heels. "Okay guys. You can stop. Come on over here. I'd like you all to meet Blake Harwell, the Water instructor. Blake, this is Zack Ashmore, Christina Noble, Lexy Malone, Tris Arelus, Levi Urban, and Lizzy Pyre." I said as I gestured to each individual.

Lexy and Tris smiled at Blake, softly saying "nice to meet you" or something like it while Zack and Levi nodded to him, and Lizzy tried to fix her hair. Christina just kept a neutral face and looked anywhere but at Blake.

"It's very nice to meet you, Blake." She smiled flirtatiously. Blake turned to me with a raised eyebrow. I just responded with a look that said "I told you so." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Christina grit her teeth.

"Well. Tris, Lizzy, you're both off to the green building where Jade is waiting. Lexy and Levi, you guys head to the orange building. Jake should be there already." I cut in. They nodded, and left, leaving the four of us alone.

"Okay you two. You're going to be our prize pupils. I can tell already." Blake said confidently. I rolled my eyes. "Steam benders are obviously the coolest, I mean, just look at me and Elena. I'm a little sad that you're Fire dominant, but that's okay. If you're like us your bending will be equal, it's just your characteristics that will be different. So when we-"

"Would you shut up? They don't even know what you're talking about! Eric wanted us to wait to explain it until you showed up." I said, frustrated.

"Oh. Well. You can handle that, can't you? I still have to go unpack and-" he was cut off by me sending a jet of white flame at him from my fist. He divided it easily enough, just as I expected, but it still scared him. "Yep. We'll explain it together. That's what I said."

I turned to Zack and Christina who were staring at us wide-eyed. "Oh, calm down. It's fun. You won't be able to bend for a while, but you should start showing characteristics soon, if you haven't already. There are other perks that come with being a bender though. Not only do you have control over an element, your body is built differently. You're able to transform into creatures that have a connection with your element. There's a lot you don't know, but now that you're here, we'll be able to teach you."

"For example. If you have a connection with Air, you'll be able to turn into flying creatures. Water will be aquatic animals. Earth allows you to transform into sturdy land creatures: such as herbivores. Fire allows you to transform into fierce land creatures: like carnivores." Blake explained.

"There are other worlds beyond ours. The government has recently discovered a way to transport humans to these worlds. Depending on your elemental connection, you will belong to different parts of these other civilizations." I said. "There are many other worlds besides this one, and our mission is to travel to them and come back with loads of information and data for the leaders of our nation."

"What?! You expect us to believe this?!" Christina burst out, incredulous. Zack, however, merely looked thoughtful, albeit a bit overwhelmed.

"You've most likely seen signs. Christina, your characteristics would include a general rise in body temperature, a shortened temperament, and extremely hot skin temperatures with different emotions such as anger. Zack, you have a pretty calm demeanor, which makes me think that your Water characteristics would show first. Have your eyes changed to blue? You might have been colder recently, and water may have helped heal injuries faster." Blake explained.

Christina and Zack shared an uneasy glance, and I knew they believed us. I continued in an authoritative voice, "First, we will work out your creature transformation abilities."

They looked blankly at me. This was going to be fun.